The present invention relates generally to software having a user interface with branding information, and, more particularly, to methods for changing the branding information to reflect specific uses of the software.
It has become important for Internet-related services to maintain their brand identity in the increasingly competitive e-commerce market. This is especially important in cases where services to a consumer are essentially transparent. Without brand identity, such services become commodities, lacking differentiation to the consumer.
One example of an otherwise-transparent service that has maintained brand identity in the e-commerce market is that provided by an Internet service provider (ISP). An ISP provides a gateway for individual subscribers to access the Internet. The ISP may also provide other services, such as searching capabilities, email, customization and content available only to its subscribers.
Many ISP""s do not provide their own proprietary client software. Instead, most ISP""s provide to their subscribers a browser licensed from a third party, such as the proprietary Microsoft Explorer(copyright) and Netscape Navigator(copyright) browsers. Because the browser includes the user interface between the ISP and the subscriber, it is important to both the subscriber and the ISP that the identity of the ISP be conveyed through the third-party browser to the subscriber.
Many currently available browsers address this problem by providing a persistent region of the user interface screen reserved for brand indicia of the ISP. As used herein, a xe2x80x9cpersistentxe2x80x9d region of the user interface screen is a region that remains visible to a user as the browser displays changing web content. The brand indicia displayed in such a region often take the form of a logo that becomes animated during periods of active communication between the ISP and the subscriber. The indicia clearly identify the ISP to the subscriber.
Third-party browser suppliers provide administration kits for customizing the proprietary browser for use by an individual ISP. Before distributing a third-party browser to its subscribers, an ISP may use the administration kit to place its logo in the persistent region of the user interface provided for that purpose. The ISP may thereafter lock access to those properties of the browser to prevent subscribers from changing them.
Under certain conditions, a single instance of a browser residing on a network access device such as a personal computer may be used to separately access multiple ISP""s. For example, as described below, a network access device may be connected to an access network that has Internet connection services available from a plurality of ISP""s, any of which may be chosen by the user for a given browsing session. The user may furthermore be given the capability to change ISP""s during a browsing session. In those cases, there is a need for a mechanism for dynamically changing the branding indicia displayed on the browser""s user interface to match the ISP in use at a given time.
Furthermore, a user of a dial-up connection may wish to subscribe to multiple ISP""s. To correctly display ISP brand information in the user interface portion of the browser, a user must install multiple instances of one or more browsers. A similar problem arises where other types of client software are used in conjunction with the services of more than one service provider.
A browser that is dedicated to use with a single ISP is typically delivered to the ISP subscriber pre-configured for displaying the ISP""s brand indicia. The pre-configured browser software contains static files with branding data such as images comprising the brand indicia to be displayed in the user interface. Such pre-configuration is not practical where the browser is to be used with multiple ISP""s that are chosen by the user after the browser is installed on a given network access device. There is therefore a need for a method for retrieving branding data for selected ISP""s for storage and later display when the browser is used to access a selected ISP. There is a similar need for a method to retrieve branding data for any client software that is used in conjunction with a plurality of network service providers.
It is an object of the present invention to enable a method of causing brand indicia of a selected network access provider to be presented through a user interface associated with client software. The software is configurable to be used in conjunction with one of a plurality of network access providers. In accordance with a method of the invention, an identification of a plurality of network access providers is initially received for configuration of the client software. Branding data containing brand indicia for the identified network access providers is then retrieved from at least one branding data server. One of the identified network access providers is then selected for use in a session. Brand indicia of the selected network access provider are then presented through the user interface of the client software according to the branding data.
In this method, the location of the at least one branding data server may be retrieved from an instruction server. The instruction server and the branding data server may be separate servers or may be the same server. The branding data may include a screen location in the user interface where brand indicia are to be displayed, and the brand indicia may include multimedia information. The branding data may be retrieved by a network access device, or by a service activation system. The branding data may be in HTML format.
The method may also include storing the branding data in a branding database. In that case, the branding data is retrieved from the branding database before it is presented through the user interface.
The client software may run on a network access device. The network access device is then assigned a network address allocated by the selected one of the identified network access providers.
The method may also include the steps of receiving a selection of a second network access provider, and causing the brand indicia of the second network access provider to be presented through the user interface of the client software according to the branding data.
Another aspect of the invention comprises a method of configuring a network access device having a first network address allocated to a subscriber of services of a first service provider provided by a first service network, with a new network address allocated to a subscriber of services of a second service provider provided by a second service network. The network access device is connected to an access network connected to a plurality of service networks. The network access device furthermore has a user interface for displaying brand indicia of a service network.
In this method, branding data containing brand indicia for the plurality of service networks is first retrieved from at least one branding data server. A request is then sent from the network access device to the access network requesting a change to a second service provider, and a response to that request is received from the access network. A network address change request is then initiated using a DHCP configuration protocol, in which a second network address allocated to the subscriber of services of the second service provider is assigned to the network access device. The second network address is utilized by the network access device to communicate data packets to the service network providing the selected service. Finally, brand indicia of the second service provider are presented through the user interface.
These and other advantages of the invention will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by reference to the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings.